Compared to some of the other overhauling projects, I thought this one went great. I think his team does great work and works better together than does Boyd's. I'm not always a fan of the aesthetics of Chip's builds, but the work looks good.

I'm glad it wasn't just me that wondered what happened to the three duece set-up that they started the program with.

Re the posts in this forum about the rear chrome, I'd have to wonder if when Chip moved the exhaust pipes down lower in the tail if that didn't cause the change.

I didn't see the show last night, but have been all over, and under, that car by now.

Any rear exhaust you saw on the show was a mock up. I visited the car last Thursday and it still only had the exhaust back to the mufflers. Steve was still trying to figure out how the exhaust would actually be routed because the 2-1/2" system was too big to go through the bezels.

Also, the brakes weren't done until 2 weeks ago. The wheels you saw had their centers tacked in place and the offsets had not been set pending the brakes. When Steve set the offset, they had the wheels welded and the welder burned the finish. This required that they then polish the wheels to remove the burn marks. (Steve showed me the burn on the backs.) I saw them up close both ways, and they look better now being polished.

BTW, Steve swore he would never do another Overhaulin' car. But with 2 days left on the build, and no way they were going to finish, they were able to "convince" him to finish it off.

I watched the show last night due to the prior notice on the forum here and I thought the crew did a good job. I liked the car and especially the colors although I may need sunglasses when looking at the steering wheel. It seems to me that the whole concept of the show has become a tad stale. I am not Foose's biggest fan although there is no denying that he certainly has talent in a number of areas.There are a few individuals whose talents are being overlooked in some of his work (Marc and Luc and Marcel Delay in his metalworking projects and Riddler winners, to name a few). I question the quality of a "overhaul" that takes place in a week with all of the solvents that have not really had time to evaporate. I know that much of the substrates are chemically activated and also heat dried but there still is a certain amount of evaporation I would assume that should take place prior to final coats and polishing etc. Also when people go out to my home-shop to see what I am working on my wife likes to point out how ungodly slow my progress is especially when compared to "Overhaulin". I gave up trying to explain to her that with the large crew and the man hours that those guys are logging, I am getting my work done in a reasonable time with a lot less drama.-Jim

Alot of the Cigarette Offshore Boats have the exhaust exiting
through the fiberglass transom...
There might be some prefab boat pieces that could be used to
make the exhaust functional.... perhaps ceramic coated to keep
the exhaust heat in the pipe and easy on the freshly painted vetteglass.. I know Gil Exhaust makes some transom exhaust pieces.

1. One man- Hood
2. One man- Right fender
3. One man- Left fender
4. One man- Right door
5. One man- Left door
6. One man- Right Quarter
7. One man- Left Quarter
8. One man- Trunk Section
9. One man- Disassembly/Assembly and Chrome
10. One man- Floater/Troubleshooter-Parts Coordination-Painter

And I've still left out Roof... Glass man.. and all the Misc things
that eat up time and surprise you... what if the floor is bad?..
what if the firewall is chewed up?... what if a bracket breaks??
Frame painting??? Frame Plumbing?? New Driveshaft with Eng
Swap?? etc. etc..

The tv shots of car work are often of 4 or 5 guys... but then
you see 30 or 40 guys sometimes on the reveal...

If you had 3 or 4 days to get a car ready for paint that you
knew very little about.... wouldn't you have enough experienced
bodymen on hand to get it covered??
I don't doubt the 450 man hour claim...

I didn't see the show last night, but have been all over, and under, that car by now.

Any rear exhaust you saw on the show was a mock up. I visited the car last Thursday and it still only had the exhaust back to the mufflers. Steve was still trying to figure out how the exhaust would actually be routed because the 2-1/2" system was too big to go through the bezels.

Also, the brakes weren't done until 2 weeks ago. The wheels you saw had their centers tacked in place and the offsets had not been set pending the brakes. When Steve set the offset, they had the wheels welded and the welder burned the finish. This required that they then polish the wheels to remove the burn marks. (Steve showed me the burn on the backs.) I saw them up close both ways, and they look better now being polished.

BTW, Steve swore he would never do another Overhaulin' car. But with 2 days left on the build, and no way they were going to finish, they were able to "convince" him to finish it off.

I got the feeling that they used the parts off the other chassis to save time and be able to send parts out to be powder coated while the car was in the paint shop. I don't recall them saying anything about the frame or suspension being in bad shape.

I like alot of Chips ideas ..... but when it comes to vintage corvettes I can't see moving signal lamps, cutting out the quarters or any other modifications to the original glass. Come to think about it... did they eliminate the fake fender air ducts ? I don't recall seeing them in the end. Where did the 2x4 manifold come from ? They showed 3x2 setup with the crate engine. That dark blue color belongs on a Cobalt.

You Know... The first thing Chip asked was "Do you know if the engine/trans was original", and the lady responded that she didn't believe so as his dad raced the car. I think Chip would have tried to honor the car as much as possible if it maintained any originality.

After they stripped the body, it also showed damage on all four corners, (it was in bad shape). Even if they brought the thing back to original, I think very few here, and no one at NCRS would even have considered purchasing the car given the opportunity, having known the hit record.

Do you think the son will be driving the car more often than before letting it sit and rot?

I am sure at the time his dad owned the car and thought about selling it. He probably told his dad to keep it for him when he gets older. His dad did and it sat for years. I am sure there are other reasons...

Thats the problem with a lot of these cars (lack of driving and keeping it up). I would like to see a reunion like the brady bunch reunion with all of the overhauln cars in about 10-15 years. Lets see if any of them go back to the previous conditions.

Steve LuVisi at Automotive Expertise in Huntington Beach. He did the Overhaulin' '64 and they called him in to finish the '57 when they knew that they were in way over their heads. At this point, he's done over 125 body-off restorations. The '64 on Overhaulin' was his 100th!

Steve is among the best, and most honest mechanics you could ever find. No one else (other than me) touches my Corvettes.

He is knowlegable in NCRS and used to work for GM making Camaros and Firebirds in the old Van Nuys plant.

And he has a nice collection of Vettes including an NCRS Top Flight '68 L88 roadster, and a really nice '65 Fuelie roadster.

Not only is he a great mechanic, he lets me use his blaster and tools doesn't get mad when I break them.

As a mechanic, Steve charges by the hour, as opposed to the book, and has found ways to knock counless hours off what the book says. I can't tell you how much stuff he's fixed for me at no charge (even things like rewelding my kitchen chairs), and helped me with custom fabrication (like a set of "traction devises" I came up with for Vettes).

You Know... The first thing Chip asked was "Do you know if the engine/trans was original", and the lady responded that she didn't believe so as his dad raced the car. I think Chip would have tried to honor the car as much as possible if it maintained any originality.

After they stripped the body, it also showed damage on all four corners, (it was in bad shape). Even if they brought the thing back to original, I think very few here, and no one at NCRS would even have considered purchasing the car given the opportunity, having known the hit record.